President Jacques Chirac said on Monday France is Ivory Coast's ally and urged national reconciliation in the West African state after anti-French crowd violence erupted there at the weekend. "France is the friend of Ivory Coast," Chirac said in a speech to police cadets in the southern French town of Nimes. "(France) hopes that this country once again finds the path of national reconciliation." The anti-French crowd violence erupted after France destroyed most of the country's air force in retaliation for the killing of nine French peacekeepers.